SUMMER 2024 STARTS HERE

Typically, the tourist season starts in Greece at Easter. Well, Greek Orthodox Easter anyway. Here in Greece we work to the old fashion Julian calendar rather than the more globally used Gregorian one. That means Easter in Greece falls later than in most of the rest of the world. Technically it all depends on the date of the first full moon after the Jewish celebration of Passover, which is the festival that caused Christ to be in Jerusalem before the crucifixion. More practically in 2024 it falls on Sunday May 5^th, whilst Easter Sunday elsewhere is March 31st.

THE BEGINNINGS OF ORTHODOXY

The Orthodox church was founded following the Pentecost, by Christ’s apostles. Two interesting Greek words here – ‘orthodox’ means ‘right opinion’ and Pentecost means ‘fifty’. Traditionally the church was founded 50 days after Passover when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and they found themselves speaking in foreign tongues so that they could go abroad and spread the word.

AS SURE AS EGGS IS RED

In family terms Greek orthodox Easter is rather like Thanksgiving in America – people tend to go back to their hometowns and villages and celebrate with their families. There are processions, feasts of spit-roast lamb, and flamboyant fireworks. And, of course, the traditional smashing of hard-boiled eggs that have been painted red to symbolise the blood of Christ and the cracking of his tomb for the resurrection. In Athens the celebrations are quite a spectacle.

TO CORINTH, IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL

St. Paul was one of the first apostles to travel to Greece, arriving in 50 CE and settling in the important provincial capital of Corinth, working as a tentmaker. He preached the Gospel to both the locals and the large Jewish community, in total visiting Corinth three times. The legacy of his Letters to the Corinthians are examples of some of the finest early scriptures. The history of Corinth goes back way beyond that and the site has been occupied since 6,500 BCE. It was a place of great strategic importance throughout the bronze ages, was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BCE, then rebuilt by Julius Caesar around 51 CE.

ENJOY A TWO-CENTRE EASTER BREAK

If you’re interested in Christianity, or religion at large for that matter, the great thing about Corinth is its proximity to Athens. That makes it easy to come for all the excitement of Easter in our wonderful capital and then drive east for just over an hour and visit both the ruins of old Corinth and the new city for a perfect two centre holiday. Or add more interesting Christian sites and make a week or two of it.

If you think and Easter with a difference would be interesting, why not take advantage of our egg-celent service?

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

For more information about our wide range of holidays & trips in Greece get in touch with our experienced team on our contact us page.

Or by calling +(30) 21620 20021.

EXPLORE GREECE JOINS USTOA

It was 2493 years ago this week that news reached Athens that a Greek army of 10,000, under the generalship of Miltiades, had defeated a Persian Army of 15,000 at the Battle of Marathon on September 12th 460BCE. The announcement came courtesy of a messenger called Pheidippides who ran from the battlefield to the Parthenon. Having previously run over 200 miles in two days to try and get support from the Spartans, he then sadly fell to the floor and died. Only 192 Greek perished in the battle and the monument to them stands proudly on the plain.

We think our new news that we have become members of the United States Tour Operators Association is, well, sort of up there with the battle result.

3 MILLION GREEK-AMERICANS  WILL CHEER THE NEWS

Joining the United States Tour Operators Associations makes perfect sense. America has the second largest community of people of Greek origin in the world. That’s equivalent to 30% of the entire population of Greece! Many of them are now third and even fourth generation, but they’re still in touch with Greek history, myths and legends and love to come back.

EVERY YEAR ONE MILLION AMERICANS VISIT GREECE

Of course it isn’t just American-Greeks that are drawn to visit the antiquities and beauty of our mainland and islands. Every year around one million Americans of all extraction come to discover and explore sites such as the theatre at Epidavros (above).

EXPLORE GREECE? THERE’S A CLUE IN OUR NAME!

If you have people who want to explore Greece then it’s always best for them to explore with a local who knows the hide-away authentic back alleyway restaurants just as well as the high profile sites. In which case there’s a big clue in the name of our inbound ground handling company – Explore Greece.

Now proudly a member of the United States Tour Operators Association.

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

For more information about our wide range of holidays & trips in Greece get in touch with our experienced team on our contact us page.

Or by calling +(30) 21620 20021.

…NOT TO FORGET EUCLID

We Greeks know a thing or two about angles. After all, in Pythagoras and Euclid we have the originators of modern mathematics. The former of course specialised in right angles and Euclid was the father of geometry. But let us tell you straight away that there are no wrong angles when it comes to visiting either the Greek mainland or her stunning islands.

SEEING BOTH SIDES NOW

If you’re a student of the classics you will know that the Greek word ‘amphi’ – as in amphitheatre – means ‘both sides’. That’s why the building at Epidauros (above) is not an amphitheatre but simply a theatre as it’s only a half circle – we like to be ahead of the curve! Then again we are experts in having a 360 degree view of everything possible to see.

MORE FACETS THAN A CHILIAGON 

You have to be an expert to know this (tbh we admit we had to look it up) but a 1,000-sided polyhedron is called a ‘chiliagon’. We think that’s a brilliant way to look at Greece. Certainly we are a ‘polyculture’, the word ‘poly’ meaning many. We have been invaded and occupied countless times, adopting something of each culture we have embraced. Add to that earthquakes and tsunamis,  volcanic cataclysms, Gods and monsters, myths and legends, and a fair sprinkling of facts and history, and we must have at least a thousand faces. Come and chill for a while.

LET US SQUARE THE CIRCLE FOR YOU

Ancient Greek mathematicians were obsessed with the idea of ‘squaring the circle’. It became a metaphor for something that was impossible or something that only alchemists could achieve. But, when it comes to putting together a package of all the best things to do and see in Greece, we think our experts have a winning formula that makes the impossible, possible. 

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

As an inbound travel agent for all things Greek, we offer a full portfolio of services ranging from cutural day trips and short breaks out of Athens, to soft adventure tours of the mainland, multi-island-hopping holidays and full-on cruises. If you are planning a tour to Greece make sure you speak to our incredibly knowledgeable and expert team.